


No Glory

by RuvikKin



Series: Red Dead A/B/O Universe [14]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Crying During Sex, F/F, F/M, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Sex, Tags to be updated but i think I got all of them, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, i am :) so sorry, rubs my shitty little hands together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24664126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RuvikKin/pseuds/RuvikKin
Summary: Jobs always had the chance to go wrong, sometimes it was a simple miscalculation, other times it ended in a shootout. Most of the time though jobs went almost right, and there was cash to be made but bullets would fly. There seemed to never be a time when the jobs went poorly and they got away with no money.
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Charles Smith, Hosea Matthews/Dutch van der Linde, Kieran Duffy/Bill Williamson, Sadie Adler/Molly O'Shea
Series: Red Dead A/B/O Universe [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537531
Comments: 20
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is it guys! Coming up on the ending of this series! I hope you all enjoy it as I update it!

Jobs always had the chance to go wrong, sometimes it was a simple miscalculation, other times it ended in a shootout. Most of the time though jobs went almost right, and there was cash to be made but bullets would fly. There seemed to never be a time when the jobs went poorly and they got away with no money. Blackwater was supposed to be the last bad job, Sean getting shot through the shoulder was no good either but he’d at least survived and they got away with some money from Rhodes before needing to run away. Dutch usually knew what he was doing, so for a job with him to go entirely south felt like a rarity to Arthur.

His first job back since Davon was born two weeks prior, finally getting back out to work. He felt rusty but Dutch talked him into it, and Arthur agreed and asked Lenny to come along. A simple job, really, a trolly station robbery while Dutch told Arthur about plans to travel overseas to Tahiti- made him roll his eyes at the thought of it. The job, in and out, fast, that was the plan. It ended with a tipped over trolley, and the three of them rushing out of town on a stolen cart while Dutch held his head and complained he was seeing three of everything. Barely any money was made, and Dutch was pissed.

The three rolled back into camp, Lenny helping Dutch off the cart as he held his head, with Hosea over in an instant, Eleanor by his leg.

“What happened?”   
“That god damn snake set us up.” Dutch stated, letting go of his head once he was off the cart, trying to act like he wasn’t injured. “I’ll explain… I need to lie down.” Eleanor gripped at Dutchs pant let, trying to get his attention but he waved her off, muttering at her that he needed to lay down. Arthur stepped up, taking Eleanor by the hand as Dutch walked off, Hosea giving them a quick look until Arthur waved him off to go be with Dutch and the alpha walked away.

“You wanna come and see Davon?” The young girl nodded and Arthur led her away to where he saw Charles sitting with Davon wrapped against his chest. Charles smiled at the two of them, moving to stand until Arthur held his hand up, and took a seat next to Charles. Eleanor stood by Charles, rocking on her feet as she looked at the sleeping baby against his chest. Carefully Charles unwrapped the baby from his chest, holding him so Eleanor could look at him.

“What happened?” Charles asked Arthur, giving the man a concerned look. “I saw Dutch holding his head, and you look exhausted.”

“Whole thing was a set up. Bronte told Dutch bout this job, said there was lots of money. Yeah, bullshit. We each got fifteen and a quarter.” Arthur shook his head, looking to Eleanor as she watched Davon and was allowing the baby to grip at her finger. Leaning into Charles so Eleanor didn’t hear, Arthur muttered in his ear. “Dutch got hurt bad. Hit on the head. Dunno how long he’ll be out of it.” Charles nodded.   
“Sounds like your first job back went about as smoothly as everything else here.” Arthur huffed, rubbing his hands over his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, hit my shoulder weird when we fell, probably gonna have a hell of a bruise on there, but I’m just fine.” Arthur moved his arm, rolling his shoulder to show that he was still fine.

Davon began to squirm in Charles arms, making the two of them turn their attention to the infant, Charles gently bouncing him with soft shushing noises. Unfortunately that didn’t work much and the baby began to writhe, gripping at Charles shirt to tug at it. Arthur leaned over, taking the infant into his arms and rocking him gently, placing a kiss on his head. “He’s hungry, probably. Gonna head on in and take care of ‘im. I’ll be back.” Arthur stood carefully, heading into Shady Belle with Davon in his arms.

Next to Charles, Eleanor still sat, now swinging her legs while she stared at Charles. She stood up, letting out a huff. “Uncle Charles?”

“Hm?” Charles looked at her, resting his head in his hand- his arm resting on his knee.

“You love Uncle Arthur, right?” The question made Charles brow rise in curiosity.

“Of course I do.” Eleanor nodded, rocking back and forth on her feet. “Why do you ask?” She shrugged.

“You don’t… They fight, but pa always says is’ ‘cause they just care ‘bout each’ n’other.” Eleanors statement made Charles feel like he’d had the wind knocked from him. “You ‘n Uncle Arthur never do. Jacks ma’ and pa’ fight too.”

“Well, I’m sure they love each other. Just like I love Arthur…” He wasn’t really certain what he wanted to say to her, or what he should, it wasn’t like he knew fully the situation between John and Abigail- hadn’t asked, and then of course Hosea and Dutch argued but Arthur said they’d always bickered and fought. “Are you worried about it?” Eleanor shrugged, turning to Charles to climb up onto his lap, resting her head on his chest. Charles froze for a moment, before he put a comforting arm around the child, a gentle squeeze like a hug.

“Daddy doesn’t talk to me much.”  _ Dutch _ didn’t talk to her much? Sounded crazy to Charles, he couldn’t imagine it. “Pa says he’s just… S… st…” She stumbled with the word, face pinched in determination.

“Stressed?”

“Yea’.” She nodded, affirming what he said. “Can I tell you a secret?” Charles nodded and she sat up, looking around before she ushered Charles to lean down, whispering in his ear. “He talks to Micah. I don’t like Micah.” Charles had to put his fist over his mouth, holding back a smile and a laugh. “I don’t want him to be my new pa.” The sentence threw Charles for a loop and he moved back, seeing the serious expression on Eleanors face.

“I don’t… I don’t think that’s going to happen. I may not know them well but your parents, I’m sure they love each other.”

“Sure?” Charles nodded and Eleanor beamed, jumping off of his lap. “Okay! If you say that then its true! I’m gonna go play with Jack now.” With that the kid ran off in search of her friend, leaving Charles a little confused as to what just happened, and concerned.

He stood up, heading inside of Shady Belle, walking up the stairs to his and Arthurs room, knocking twice to let Arthur know it was him before he walked in. Arthur sat on the cot, Davon still held close to his chest as Arthur rocked back and forth gently. The man looked at Charles, smiling at him with tired eyes. “He’s still eatin’. You get bored out there without me?”

“Always uneventful when you aren’t around.” Charles walked over, placing a kiss on Arthurs head. He didn’t sit, just stood, arms crossed over his chest- not in an angry way but just in a way he sometimes stood. Arthur caught on that something was happening almost immediately.

“What’s wrong?”

“Eleanor said some… Odd things to me.” Arthur quickly raised his eyebrows, a silent asking of what he meant. “She’s worried that Dutch and Hosea… Don’t love each other. Because they fight.”

“They always fight.” Arthur paused. “I suppose they been fighting a bit more lately but they’re fine, I’m sure.” Charles hummed, looking behind him at the door, listening if anyone was close.

“She was also worried about Micah.” Arthur stiffened. “Nothing, I’m sure, I just think she’s a lot smarter than she lets on.”

“He been doing anything weird?” Charles shook his head. “Good. I don’t think he’s dumb enough to be mean to Eleanor- he’s too scared of Dutch and Hosea, Hosea especially.” Arthur leaned back against the wall as Davon moved again, finally finished with his eating and just wanting to fall back asleep. Arthur pulled his shirt back up, buttoning it up with one hand while he held the infant in the other. “Was there something else on your mind?”

“I don’t think so… I just wasn’t expecting that from her.” Charles moved, sitting down beside Arthur, looking at the infant sleeping soundly in his arms. “She was worried we didn’t love each other, because we don’t fight.” Arthur snorted at the statement, shaking his head.

“So she’s all worried that Dutch and Hosea don’t love one another because they fight, but she’s worried because we don’t then we must hate each other? Kids are wild.” Charles shrugged.

“Eleanor brought up John and Abigail too, but I don’t really know why they fight.”

“Nobody told you?”   
“Never cared to ask. They aren’t bonded, I noticed that much, but I just assumed, well, they weren’t ready.”

“They aren’t, and thats why they fight.” Arthur looked down at Davon in his arms, gently brushing his hand against the infants head, soothing him in his sleep. “Abigail got pregnant with Jack, and she was at one point a whore, so John was all worried the kid wasn’t his. Jack was born and well, you know how newborns smell like their parents, just somethin there.” Charles nodded. “Well, had John all over him, and then John decided he weren’t  _ ready  _ to be a dad.” The sentence was spoken with some anger in it, perhaps some resentment. “Left for a year… Came back and Dutch welcomed him with open arms and well, he and Abigail just haven’t recovered I suppose.” Charles hummed in response, placing a comforting hand on Arthurs knee. “It’s fine, you’d just think he’d know better than to leave. Comes back, expectin everything to just be fine.” Arthur let out a sigh, shaking his head. “It’s alright, just been years. Kinda hurt, Abigail was real shaken.”

“I’m sure.” Charles looked at Davon again, before he looked back to Arthur. “You look tired, come on.” Charles shifted on the cot, leaning back against the wall and patting the area between his legs. Arthur smiled, moving over carefully so he didn’t disturb Davon, leaning back on Charles with his back against Charles chest. Charles ran his fingers through Arthurs hair, which had grown fairly long the past few months, down to his shoulders now, though Arthur was adamant on keeping his beard trimmed close.

Arthur relaxed against him, closing his eyes as Charles played with his hair, forming a braid in it. He didn’t say anything against it, he loved Charles playing with his hair to help him relax after a long day, and he’d indeed had a long day. The last time Charles had braid his hair it wasn’t very long yet, and Charles had commented that he might look good with it grown out more- so he did just that and let it grow.

“Charles.” Arthur muttered out his name, tired as he was. Charles responded with a hum, letting Arthur know he was listening. “I still wish I knew what I did, make you fall in love with someone like me.” Charles fingers stopped the braiding, his hands moving down to wrap around Arthur, hands settling under where the mans arms were cradling Davon. “Wasn’t just the bondmate stuff was it?”

“No.” Charles pressed a kiss to Arthurs head. “I felt the tug, but you didn’t seem interested, so I ignored it, but you’re an incredible man Arthur Morgan.” One of Charles hands moved, rubbing Arthurs side gently, comforting. “I fell in love with you just watching you. The hard work you do, the way you draw, even the way you shoot a mans brains out.” Arthur snorted at the remark, smiling. “Fell in love when I watched you smile, the way you spoke to others, the way you look” Charles leaned over, placing a kiss to Arthurs cheek at the awkward angle. “I fell in love with you, not with the feelin.”

“Alright, alright. Ya damn…” Arthur grumbled but the flush on his cheeks gave way to more happiness than any anger. “I was just thinkin’, thats all.” He yawned, shifting in Charles arms, cradling Davon close to his chest. “Damn exhausted. Forgot having a kid is exhausting.”

“Get some rest.” Charles moved his hands back to playing with Arthurs hair, a small comfort as he slowly fell back asleep.

`

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`

`

“So, Arthur, you get the deciding vote.” Hosea turned to Arthur as the man walked out onto the balcony, leaning back in his seat with Eleanor on his knee, a book in hand that she was no doubt just staring at to mimic Hosea and Dutch- by the way she stared at it with a pinched expression and couldn’t make anything out.

“About what?” He’d been called up to the balcony by Dutch, having to leave Charles’ side once more and leave him with Davon again.

“We take an insult and scurry off like cockroaches, or deal with business the right way.”

“We don’t need to take revenge, we hardly know the guy.” Arthur turned away slightly, pulling out a cigarette to light it while Hosea and Dutch bickered.

It seemed that since the gang had gone and burned down the Braithwaite manor, and turned Rhodes to a bloodbath, that Dutch and Hosea had been bickering more than usual. Dutch mentioned robbing a bank and Arthur felt a little bit of concern, he’d seen the bank and it was heavily guarded at all times. He’d ridden past it a few times and each time someone stepped in front of the door, glaring at him like he was going to head in there and rob it himself- made him roll his eyes.

“-There ain’t no easier way, now I know his type-” Dutch turned back to Arthur, motioning with his hands as he spoke. “We pull a stunt like this in his cess pit of a town, we’re doomed.” Hosea sighed, putting a hand on Eleanors back. “You wanna leave this place? Leave this country. We need that money.”

“It just don’t feel good Dutch.”

“This is it. This is the last job we are ever going to pull.” As Dutch spoke Arthur looked out over the edge of the balcony, looking down at the gang sitting around fires and mingling amongst themselves.

He looked down over their faces, at what they were doing. Javier and Tilly, sitting side by side while Javier strummed his guitar and she was busy cleaning a gun, Bill and Kieran at one of the tables playing poker against Sadie and Molly- Arthur couldn’t tell who was winning but by the look on Bills face it wasn’t him. Charles at one of the fires with Davon cradled close, John sitting beside him as the two chat. Jack, playing with a stick and Cain under Abigails watchful eyes. Even Sean and Karen together, drinking again while he was very obviously trying to get under her skirt once again.

“Arthur.” Dutchs voice broke through his gaze and Arthur turned to the man. He saw the worry in Hoseas eyes, the anger in Dutch’s, looked at the way Eleanor was staring at Dutch with big eyes- lost eyes. “Trust me, son. This is business.” Arthur sighed.

“Well, if its business well… Business is business.” Dutchs shoulders relaxed when Arthur spoke, like he’d been expecting to have to argue with him as well. “I have to go make sure Davon don’t need anything, and I can go.”

“Good. I’ll meet you down there.” Dutch shoved past Arthur, the man watching him go.

“He’s going to damn us all.” Hosea spoke. “Arthur, please-”

“I know. I’ll… I know.” Arthur muttered, walking away from Hosea to head down the stairs.

He walked over to where Charles sat, leaning down to place a kiss on his cheek. “Leaving?”   
“Once again, yes. I’ll be back soon and Davon just ate so he should be fine until I’m back.” Charles nodded, looking at the baby who was still curled up, though his eyes were open as he stared now up at his parents, or the sky, whatever his eyes could see. Arthur could feel his gut twist with a sick feeling that something was wrong, but it wasn’t with the baby. Something about Dutch made him feel sick, though he couldn’t place it. Arthur shook the feeling off, walking away from the gang once more to go join by Dutch’s side, climbing onto his horse while Dutch did the same as they took off, Dutch telling Arthur about the current plan.

`

`

`

`

`

The next night, under the guise of a dark night with the moon covered by clouds, floating on a river in a skiff, Arthur watched with wide eyes as Dutch held Brontes head underwater. Screaming at him about Pinkertons, about how his money was useless. Arthur felt the same sick feeling in his gut he had the day before, when he watched Dutch pull away from Brontes dead body and push him into the river. He shared a look with John, one they both understood without any words about the situation. Arthur, at a loss for words said nothing as John asked Dutch why he fed the man to an alligator, Dutch just said it was ‘us, or him’ and left without another word.

The rest of the gang- Bill, Lenny, and John, left shortly after Dutch did. Arthur waited until the others were out of sight before he climbed onto his horse and rode off. His head felt fuzzy as he rode back towards camp, he’d never seen Dutch kill like that. He’d seen Dutch kill people before, but it was never for revenge- and it was never something like that.

Arthur rode back into camp, hitching up his horse before he made a beeline to Charles, who sat beside Sadie as she held Davon and cooed at him. “Charles, I need to talk with you. Sadie can you watch him for a little bit?”   
“Of course.” She replied, watching as Arthur tugged Charles to his feet and led him away from the camp into the surrounding woods.

“What happened? I saw everyone come back and they all seemed-” Charles was cut off when Arthur pressed him against a tree and kissed him roughly, hands fisted in Charles’ shirt. “Arth-” Charles tried to talk between the kisses, only getting cut off when Arthurs lips crashed against his own once again.

Arthurs hands went to Charles belt, hands moving quickly to unclasp it, slipping a hand down the front of Charles pants to grip at his cock, stroking him slowly. Charles moved his hands quick, taking Arthur by the shoulders to move him away slightly. Arthur paused, staring at Charles for a moment.

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Charles sighed, taking Arthurs wrists to pull his hands away from his pants and his hips. “Come on Charles-”

“You get like this when you’re upset. What happened?” Arthur didn’t seem to want to answer, only shuffled his feet slightly, his eyes trailing over Charles. “Come on, Arthur, talk to me.” Charles cupped one of Arthurs cheeks, running his thumb across his skin gently. Arthur closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as he pressed into the palm of Charles hand.

“Dutch killed Bronte… Drowned him, fed him to an alligator. Just wasn’t like him.” Charles listened, leaned back against the tree he’d been pushed against, pulling Arthur close to him to wrap his arms around Arthur and hold him close. “I have a bad feeling. He’s settin’ to rob the bank out there and I don’t think… It ain’t a good idea.”

“You should talk to him.”

“Not tonight.” Arthur pressed his face into Charles neck, closing his eyes as he took comfort in Charles so close to him, placing small kisses against Charles neck. “I just need a distraction Charles, just somethin to get the… The sounds of him drowning out of my head.” Arthur moved his hands back down to Charles hips, pulling away from the mans neck to kiss him again deeply. Charles kissed him back, arms moving up to tangle his fingers in Arthurs hair, pressed against him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pinkertons gun was trained on Hoseas head as he was moved roughly, Hosea holding his hands up slightly to show Milton that he didn’t have a weapon. Dutch fiddled his gun in his hand nervously, his mind racing of ways to get out of this. Talk, he was good at talking, a distraction. Arthur could shoot the Pinkerton, they’d had a similar situation in Valentine months ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screams  
> I am so sorry!!!

The camp was full of buzzing energies once again. It had been three days since Dutch killed Bronte, and Dutch had announced the plans for robbing the Saint Denis bank- set to go through the next afternoon, giving everyone enough time to get up, dressed, and get ready before they head out. Hosea had even seemed excited about it, deciding on the plan and working out the little kinks with Dutch before they told the plan to the gang. It had been a long time since they’d saw Hosea get excited for a big job, he’d been more worried than not for jobs lately but the excitement was a pleasant change.

“Oh by this time tomorrow we could be in Tahiti harvesting mangos!” Dutch grinned, scooping Eleanor up into his arms as she squealed with glee. “We just need to get this bank job done right, and we’ll be out of here. Free men.”

“You’re sure bout this Dutch?” Arthur asked, adjusting Davon in his arms as the baby was clinging onto his shirt. “Big city bank, it’s gonna be hard.”

“Hosea has it all planned out, we’ve gone over it enough. I just need to know if you’re with me, son.” Dutch motioned to Davon, giving Arthur a loot with his brows up. “Are you staying behind to watch him?”

“No Dutch, I’m coming along. I talked to Kieran, he’s gonna watch the baby til we’re back safe.” Dutch nodded. “Our last job, if it all goes right, I wouldn’t miss it.” Arthur looked down at Davon, seeing his baby looking up at him with bright eyes, staring at him and watching him in interest. Something in him ached, thinking of what could go wrong during a job that could leave Davon without parents- he was still just a newborn barely three weeks. Arthur should be with him, he felt it in his gut. The gang needed him though, the plan was set out and Arthur was part of it, he’d be home and things would be fine after the job.

Davon began fussing in Arthurs arms, probably meaning he needed something, so Arthur said a quick ‘catch ya later’ to Dutch before he turned and left. Dutch set Eleanor back down on the ground, allowing her to sprint off into the camp while he went in search of Hosea.

He found Hosea sitting in their room, a book in hand that he was writing in currently. Dutch smiled, walking over to Hosea, plucking the book from his hand. “Dutch-”

“Arthur will be joining us on the robbery tomorrow.” Hosea looked concerned, opening his mouth to speak before Dutch cut him off. “It’ll be just fine.”

“He just had a baby.” Dutch shrugged. “Dutch, I told you to talk him out of it. If you won’t do it-” Hosea started to stand but Dutch placed a hand on his shoulder, making Hosea sigh and lean back in his seat. “Dutch-”  
“We need him. Who are we going to replace him with? Sean? He still can’t hold a gun properly.”

“Thats not the point Dutch.” Hosea said, stern. “We could do it well without Arthur, we’ll have plenty of other guns there. We’ve talked about this, planned for it-”  
“Nobody cracks a safe faster than Arthur does.” Dutch leaned down, cupping one of Hoseas cheeks, smiling at him. “Things will go smoother with Arthur down there, you know it. Things will be smooth regardless, your planning has never failed us.” Dutch leaned forwards, placing a kiss to Hoseas lips quickly. “Are you that worried?”   
“Not about the job, just about Arthur. Quite a few months he was out of it, he’ll be worried about Charles and his baby. I think he should stay behind.” Dutch shook his head. “If you insist then Dutch. I’ll trust you.” Hosea put his arms up around Dutchs shoulders, kissing him softly. Dutch kissed back, moving until he was sat on Hoseas leg, his arms snaking around Hoseas body, one hand moving to tangle in his hair.

“I love you, Hosea.”

“I love you too Dutch. Don’t forget it now.” Dutch chuckled, kissing him again before he moved, resting his chin on Hoseas shoulder, taking in a deep relaxing breath.

“I don’t think I could ever forget it.”

`

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`

`

The gang was up bright and early, bustling around and getting prepared for the robbery. Pearson had cooked breakfast early so everyone could eat before they head out, and Dutch was making sure that everyone who was coming along was dressed their best before leaving. They were all excited, or Dutch at least was. There was a slight nervous energy floating around the camp, the same one that had been for most of their jobs, but Dutch tried to shake it off.

Once everyone was settled, mostly consisting of Bill giving plenty of attention to Kieran before he ran off, and Arthur settling Davon down to sleep before handing the baby over to be watched, while Eleanor and Jack ran around the camp ‘playing bank robbery’ as they called it, the gang who was going out head out.

The plan, Hosea and Abigail to draw the police to a section of the city while the rest of them head inside to guard doors, while Dutch and Arthur dealt with the vault.

Dutch rattled off about the plan quickly before they arrived in Saint Denis. Hosea and Abigail rode ahead from the crowd, and watching him go made Dutch feel a little bit of worry. Its not that he didn’t trust Hoseas skills, or what he could do, but during such a big robbery he was concerned that things would go well.

He had to trust Hoseas word though, had to hold faith.

Arthur shouted to Bill and Charles to ride up ahead, so they weren’t all heading in as such a big posse and there wouldn’t be so much suspicion. The gang fell silent as they rode into Saint Denis, and Dutch took a deep breath- one full of smoke from the buildings and the smell of shit from the stables. Disgusting, truly.

They arrived across the street from the bank, hitching up their horses and waiting for the explosion. Dutch could feel some nervousness,though he thought it couldn’t be his own- Hoseas likely. Gently Dutch placed his hand on his neck, the bonding mark, gently rubbing it, soothing. Something to calm Hosea down, or calm himself down.

Within moments the explosion went off and Dutch couldn’t feel any happier. The law was running away and that finally gave them the chance to move in. Everyone pulled up their masks and they burst into the bank, guns aimed at the patrons.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a robbery!” Dutch called out as he started to gather everyone away from the desk. He grabbed the bank manager by the arm, keeping him from hiding amongst the crowd, before shoving him to Arthur. “Arthur, would you please have Señor Bank Manager here open the vault?”

While Arthur and Bill worked on cracking the vault, and then getting to the safe inside, Dutch took a look around the area, grabbing a few loose bills that had been left on the counter by the scared patrons, a smirk on his face. It was all going according to plan and soon Bill was heard shouting out numbers to Arthur for the vaults. Dutch turned back and head into the vault, putting in the numbers on one of the safes, laughing when it opened.

“What did I tell you?” He said, grabbing gold bars and cash out of the vault while Arthur did the same. He was about to turn and do the same to another when there was a commotion, and a strike of fear pang through his body. Hosea. He cursed under his breath, wondering why he hadn’t felt any issues from Hosea before- thinking he may have been too caught up in robbing perhaps to notice.

“We got trouble! Looks like the law!” Dutch left the vault, running out with his gun drawn.

“Come out! Its over!” The sound of the Pinkertons voice sounded out and Dutch felt his gut clench. He ran up to the window, hiding behind a wall to peek out. Hosea was caught, his stomach churn. Nervousness, fear, doubled from Hoseas own feelings. “Dutch, get out here! Get out here now!” The Pinkertons gun was trained on Hoseas head as he was moved roughly, Hosea holding his hands up slightly to show Milton that he didn’t have a weapon. Dutch fiddled his gun in his hand nervously, his mind racing of ways to get out of this. Talk, he was good at talking, a distraction. Arthur could shoot the Pinkerton, they’d had a similar situation in Valentine months ago.

“Mr. Milton.” Dutch spoke, having to clear his throat a moment after, as he didn’t want to give away the nervousness in his voice. “Let my friend go. Or they are going to get shot unnecessarily!” Use the people in the bank, the Pinkertons wouldn’t put them in danger all for one man, they wouldn’t be that stupid. Men of the law, they’d cut a deal.

“Your friend?!” Milton laughed, he knew. He must know, by the way Dutch sounded and the way Hosea was, they weren’t just friends- he knew. “Now why would I do that?”

“Come on Milton!” Dutch didn’t want to sound desperate, but he saw the way Milton was holding Hosea and it hurt, he didn’t want that, he didn’t want any of this.

“Its over. No more bargains, no more deals.” Dutchs mind raced- why wasn’t anyone shooting Milton? He couldn’t move to do it, guns were coming for him and he would be shot, someone else had to. John, Lenny, Bill- christ he hadn’t planned for it to go poorly, for Hosea to be caught.

“Mr. Milton, this is America. You can always cut a deal!” Dutch still felt nervous, more than nervous, he felt scared. Why wasn’t Milton letting Hosea go, why wouldn’t he listen? Dutch would race into the street, he’d put himself in Hoseas position if he could- but here he was stuck inside of the bank with no way to get out there without being shot on sight.

“I’ve given you enough chances.” Dutch watched as Hosea was pushed forwards into the street, Miltons gun still aimed at him. Hosea stepped forwards, slightly, his eyes locked with Dutchs for a moment- scared. He turned, and a gunshot rang out.

Dutch clenched at his chest, crumbling forwards until he was on the ground, breathing hard. Hosea was in pain- there was pain- it hurt- the mark on his neck burned. He didn’t hear what Arthur said, blood raced in his ears. Pain, pain, the taste of copper on his tongue. And then nothing.

“Theres your deal, Dutch.” He heard Milton, he felt nothing- an unnerving numbness took over his body. His fear was gone, replaced with nothing.

“Hosea.” Dutch breathed out his name, his hand still clutching at his chest. Then, anger. A flood of it, making his hands shake, he saw red. “Hosea!” Arthur broke the glass next to his head and Dutch stood, aiming out of the window. Milton was gone, the coward, but Dutch aimed his gun at Pinkertons and fired. “Kill those bastards!” Gunfire started, and the law began to pour out of every area.

He saw Hoseas body on the ground, laying in the street lifeless, completely still with blood still pouring from him onto the street, though slower now as he was already in a puddle of his own blood. Dutch froze at the sight, he couldn’t pull his trigger to shoot the men shooting at him, his eyes were locked onto Hoseas body.

Someone reached out, grabbing his arm and tugging him away from the window right as a bullet wizzed past his face. “Dutch watch out-” It was Javier, tugging Dutch away from the gunfire so he wouldn’t get shot.

“Hosea! They killed Hosea!” Lennys voice called out next.

“God damn it!” John. “I said this was a bad idea!” Dutch looked at John, moved past him to the center of the room where the bank teller usually stood, ducking under the counter as he thought of what to do next.

“Hold them back! I got an idea!” Dutch fumbled with the bag over his shoulder- he was hoping that they wouldn’t have to use this but at this point it seemed like there was nothing else. For now, he couldn’t focus on Hoseas body- everyone else needed to get to safety first. People shouted around him- Javier shouting that Hosea wasn’t moving, Micah shouting that he was dead- it was a mess. This was a mess.

Dutch stood up, looking around. “Arthur! You alive?”  
“Just about!”

“Get over here!” Arthur listened, moving away from his position by the window to run over to Dutch. “There is no way we are getting out that door, take this-” Dutch handed some dynamite to Arthur. “And blow a hole through that wall. Now.” Arthur listened, grabbing the dynamite and jumping over the counter to head to the wall. Dutch waited, listened as gunshots came out and a moment later Arthur was next to him again, he shot and the dynamite exploded, making the bank shake. “Arthur, climb up to the roof and cover us!” Again Arthur jumped over the counter without an argument, running out of the hole he created.

Dutch moved from his spot, taking up the area by the window again to help shoot outside- doing his best to keep his eyes off of Hoseas body on the ground. Things were getting too out of control, more cops and more Pinkertons were pouring out of nowhere. Even Arthur on the roof wasn’t helping much even as he was killing men left and right.

“Damn-” Dutch heard Johns cut off shout and looked just in time to see John being dragged away by the law and out of sight. Something in his gut twisted, he thought about the fact that Abigail got away while Hosea was on the ground, dead. He didn’t hold his gun up, didn’t make any move to help him, just watched.

As if everyone thought the same thing they all moved back, Javier ran out of the hole first and head up to the roof to talk to Arthur. The rest of them stayed behind, still doing all they could to fight off the attackers. It seemed useless, like Blackwater all over again, something went wrong- or someone talked.

Not too much later after Javier left the rest of them decided to leave as well. Dutch took a final look at Hosea, as if looking at him he would see him move or something- but there was nothing, and Dutch turned and ran out of the bank. They climbed up the same ladder Arthur had and met with the man on the roof.

“They got John.”  
“Killed?” Arthur looked worried.

“Arrested... I couldn’t help.”

“Well we better go or we’ll be next.” Dutch looked out over the roofs, luckily they were all flat- or relatively so. “I reckon Lenny and I try to find a way across the roofs, you cover us.” Dutch agreed and Arthur took Lenny to run off, find some way.

Dutch trained his gun on the law again, shooting off a few times. It wasn’t a moment later when he heard gunshots from where Arthur had run off, and looking over his shoulder he saw Charles sprinting over in that direction. Not Arthur, he couldn’t lose Arthur and Hosea.

Dutch put his gun away and followed after Charles- he saw Arthur kneeling on the ground with Charles next to him, and getting closer he saw Lenny on the ground. Lifeless, just like Hosea.

“Dutch” Arthur called out to him when Dutch got closer. “Dutch they got Lenny.”

“Oh god damn them!” The gang raced past Arthur, they needed to get out of there. “We can’t stop now Arthur, or we’re all dead.” Dutch ran over to Arthur, grabbed him by the shoulder and hefted the man to his feet. It pained him seeing Lenny, so young and so bright, taken away. And it pained him to see Arthur with sorrow in his eyes as he looked down at the young man, but they needed to go.

They hopped across the roofs, doing their best to keep their heads down. Dutch led the way as they slunk across the tops of the buildings, quickly but not quick enough to draw attention to themselves. Law was everywhere, their whistles blowing and feet pounding against the road. Occasionally there was a gunshot but nobody was hit. Dutch saw a building with an open window not too far off and he raced towards it, motioning for Arthur to follow as he pulled a board out of the way.

Arthur climbed in first, followed by Dutch, and Dutch watched and did a count in his head who was still there. “I don’t believe it.”

“They knew we were coming.” Arthur commented. Bill made his way inside, followed by Micah. “Just like your ferry job in Blackwater!” Arthur pointed to Micah as the man stepped inside.

“Ain’t nothing like that.” Micah spat at him. Charles was the next inside, stepping over next to Arthur, and finally Javier. That was all of them.

Dutch moved the board back in the way of the window so nobody would come in, and he turned to look over the gang that was still with him. They all made their way to another room, with more boarded up windows. Dutch shut the door behind them, letting out a huff. “This whole town is filled with cops.”

“Well how long we gonna stay here? A few hours?” Dutch shook his head.

“We go back to camp, they’re going to get every last one of us.” He paced around the small room, looking at everyone's faces. They were all tired, breathing heavy. “I know they’re gonna be watchin’ the roads.” Dutch spoke again, trying to talk to them even as his mind felt like it was going too fast for many thoughts. “I got it-” Arthur turned to Dutch. “A boat.”

“What you mean?”  
“We stay here until nightfall, head down to the docks, and get out of here.” Arthur seemed confused, his head shaking slightly at the concept, but Dutch ignored his doubt and made his way to a chair, sitting down in it.

“Yeah, but where to?”  
“Any place will do, thats all I got. We leave, we lie low, we come back for the rest in a few weeks.” Arthur turned to Dutch, leaning on the wall, his brows pinched tight.

“I can’t be gone a few weeks Dutch, I gotta get home.”

“Well you can’t do that right now, Morgan.” Micah spoke up, sneering at Arthur. “In case you didn’t notice.”  
“Oh I noticed just fine what I _can’t_ do Micah.” Arthur spat at him. “Unless you forgot, I got a baby- ain’t even three weeks old yet- we weren’t supposed to be gone for more than a few hours and I can’t leave him for a few weeks, Dutch.” Arthur turned towards Dutch as he spoke. “I need to get back.”

“Okay son.” Dutch spoke up, looking around at the gang. “I’ll figure that much out. Everybody just calm down. Right now we’re here, and this is where we’re going to stay.” Dutch leaned back in his chair, rubbing his fingers across his eyes. “Let me think…”

`

`

`

`

Nightfall came around finally, allowing the gang to slowly and quietly leave the building. Arthur was behind Dutch, hoping Dutch had a plan to get him home- he didn’t want to be gone from Davon this long and any longer would make him rip his own hair out. Both Arthur and Dutch held onto the money over their shoulders- though Dutch still held onto most of the gold bars while Arthur had most of the bills on him.

The gang crept quietly along the roads, the rain covering up their footsteps as it came down on them- soaking them all as soon as they stepped out. Dutch led them carefully down to the docks, ducking behind a train as guards walked past, before Arthur followed him inside of the train. A guard went into the car as Dutch and he ducked behind seats. The guard stood for a minute before turning and leaving the car once again. Dutch motioned for Arthur and the rest of them to follow as he made his way through the train cars.

They made their way down closer to the docks, with Arthur needing to go and hide elsewhere to draw some guards away from the gang- a whistle seemed to work as the guards came over quickly, while Arthur returned to the others. They were so close to the docks and Arthur still wasn’t sure if Dutch had any plan of getting him out of there so he could go back to camp.

As they got close to the docks they had to stop once more as guards were standing where the gang couldn’t move. Waiting for them, probably, watching to see if they’d go to the docks- something. Arthur fidget his fingers, glancing to Charles- they both seemed to have the same idea.

“Arthur and I can deal with them.” Charles said, quietly.

“How?”

“We won’t kill all of them, not silently. They’ll chase us, you go the other way.” Arthur moved to make his way up next to Charles. Dutch seemed to have a bit of concern on his face, but it clicked with him.  
“Get home to your boy, son.” Arthur nodded, taking Charles hand as the pair walked out into the open, Arthur ducking his head and slightly hiding behind Charles so they wouldn’t see his face at least.

“What the-” A guard shouted after them and the pair took off running, whistles behind them as the law followed after them. Arthur placed his hand on the bag on his shoulder to keep it from opening, or dropping, and ran with Charles by his side, ahead of the guards well enough already.

Charles seemed to know what he was doing well enough, tugging Arthur into a back alleyway and shoving him down into a bush. Arthur wanted to protest but kept his mouth shut as Charles hid on the other side of the opening. One guard showed up, turned and looked, walked a step towards Charles and found himself meeting the wrong end of Charles knife.

Charles peeked around the corner and motioned for Arthur to follow him again, the two slowly creeping out of the alleyway and then breaking back into a run down the dimly lit street, hiding in bushes when lawmen walked past, or behind walls if they needed.

Near the edge of the city they ran into a coach- empty but the horses were still there. Arthur pulled his knife out, cut two horses loose from the coach and climbed onto one while Charles took the other. They spurred the horses on and raced over the bridge and out of the city fast as the horses could go.

Arthur kept looking over his shoulder to check that nobody was following them, and luckily it seemed they got away free. “What do you think happened to the others?” Arthur asked Charles when they were far enough away from Saint Denis. “Back at camp?”

“I think they’re fine. Bill wasn’t worried about Kieran, I’m guessing they’re all alive.”  
“Right, of course.” Arthur went silent again as they rode on, both still on some edge about the job. Arthur thought about Hosea, and about Lenny, feeling his chest clench with sadness. They didn’t deserve to die, just like Mac and Davey, and Jenny of course. Arthur tried to push the events from his mind for the time being, riding beside Charles as they made their way back to Shady Belle.

The pair arrived at Shady Belle, slowing their horses down when they heard voices, unfamiliar ones. Arthur hopped off his horse, motioning to Charles for him to stay on his own as he slowly snuck closer to the building. Things were turned up, but packed up enough that Arthur knew the gang was safe. He let out a sigh of relief, hearing the voices shouting for someone to ‘find them’. Probably looking for the gang, or Dutch, either way it wasn’t the gang. He turned and head back to the horse quietly, slowly riding away from the area with Charles so they wouldn’t get caught.

“The gang is gone, looks like they packed up before leaving though, and theres no dead bodies I could see. Must’ve got out before the Pinkertons showed up.” Charles nodded, looking down at the ground, scanning the area. “See anything?”

“Maybe, these roads are used a lot and the rains not helping, but I think I see wagon trail heading down this way.” Charles led the way, Arthur following close behind. He fidget with the reins in his hands, nervous as to where the gang could have gone, and hoping they were fine and hadn’t been captured.

The two were riding for a bit when Charles stopped his horse, Arthur did the same. “What?”  
“Sh.” Charles glanced around the area, looking into a heavily wooded area nearby.. “I think I hear something, this way.” Charles spurred the horse gently again, Arthur following behind. As they moved closer Arthur was able to hear voices, hushed ones and he wondered how Charles heard them in the first place.

“Who’s there!?” The familiar sound of Sadies voice as they got close fell on their ears and Arthur let out a sigh of relief, deciding to shout out to her in the way he did to everyone when he came home.  
“Its Arthur! Dumbass.” A moment after he spoke Sadie shot out of the treeline to Arthur and Charles.

“Arthur, Charles, come on- quietly! Leave the horses there.” Arthur did so, getting off his horse and giving it a gentle pat on the neck before he followed Sadie.

The gang was sitting in the wooded area, some on the back of a wagon, some on the ground, they all looked as tired as Arthur felt, but upon seeing him everyone seemed to relax a bit. Arthur and Charles were greeted with a collective excitement- thought it wasn’t all happy.

“What happened?”  
“Where are the others?”   
“Wheres John? Is he okay?” Arthur held his hands up against the onslaught of questions, shaking his head.

“Hang on now-”

“Arthur.” Kieran walked over, holding Davon in his arms, slowly and carefully he held the infant out. Arthur took the baby from Kierans arms, cradling him close and pressing his nose into the babys cheek softly, hearing him coo in his arms. “Miss O’Shea went into a town we passed by and got him some formula so he wouldn’t go hungry, we weren’t sure… Well if you were coming back.”

“Thank you Kieran, Miss O’Shea.” Arthur gently rubbed his baby on the back, looking at Charles. “We need to get everyone somewhere safe.”

“I was checking out a place not too long ago.” Sadie spoke up. “Mister Smith, if you would ride with me to clear the place out, I think you and I can handle it if you’re not too tired. We’d like to get everyone somewhere hidden and safe before tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

“I can come.” Arthur offered, only to be quickly shut down by Charles.

“You need to rest, and you need to stay here with Davon.” Charles took off his nice coat that he still wore from his suit, along with his tie and unbuttoned the top button on his collar. He wrapped his coat gently over Arthurs shoulders before turning to Sadie. “How far away is it?”  
“A little far, rest of them know what to do, we been over this, they can tell Arthur.” Sadie left through the trees with Charles on her tail. Arthur looked at the rest of the gang that was looking at him, obviously wanting to know what happened.

“Wheres the others? Are they coming?” Sean asked, breaking the moment of silence. Arthur shook his head. “Come on English, what happened? We’re all dying to know.”

“Went just as bad as Blackwater did. Barely made it out of there, those of us who did.”

“What? Who died?” Abigail took a step towards Arthur, worry in her eyes. “Wheres John?”  
“He’s fine. He got arrested, we’ll look into it more when we’re all rested up, but he’s alive.” Arthur could see the way her shoulders fell, relief perhaps from knowing he was still alive. He would have to tell them sooner or later, it was likely they didn’t know yet, but it still tugged at Arthurs chest to say it. “Hosea and Lenny were shot… They.... Didn’t make it.”

“Pa?” Eleanors voice broke through the crowd and Arthur felt like his heart had broken. “Wheres my pa?”

“Oh Eleanor…” Molly was by her side, reaching out to her. “You should be asleep.”

“Wheres my pa?” The girl head up to Arthur, looking up at him. “My daddy- my pa.” Arthur squat down by Eleanor, using one hand to hold Davon up against his shoulder while his other hand gently reached out to Eleanor, touching her on the cheek. He saw her lip quiver, the first tears pricking at her eyes before she started to cry. Arthur hugged her close with his free arm, letting her weep into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry about this-” Strauss spoke up. “But it’s been long enough, Mrs Adler and Mister Smith should be quite done by now, we need to go. Arthur can tell us more on the way, I’m sure.”

“Right you are. Come on everyone.” Miss Grimshaw clapped her hands once to get everyone moving. “Arthur you can rest up, sit in the wagon with the kids.”

“I’ll join ya.” Abigail offered, walking over to gently pick Eleanor up from Arthurs arms, hugging her close. Arthur stood back up, following her over to the wagon. Abigail gently set Eleanor in the back, next to Jack who was sleeping soundly as if he hadn’t heard any of the commotion, before she crawled in as well. Arthur hefted himself into the back of the wagon, holding Davon carefully so he didn’t drop the baby.

The rest of the gang packed up the little they had pulled out- mostly some bedrolls they were laying on, and moved on their way. Arthur leaned against the wagons wall, watching as Abigail soothed Eleanor until the young girl fell back asleep with tears staining her cheeks. “Poor girl.” Arthur nodded.

“Abigail, what happened?” Arthur kept his voice hushed so he didn’t wake any of the kids. “You were the last one with Hosea…”

“Well, we did the explosion as planned, and we were about to head out but… I don’t know, it happened fast, like the Pinkertons were just standing and waiting for us to do something bad. We’d just gotten away from the city block when we turned a corner and there was Milton, holding a gun up to us.” Abigail gently card her fingers through Eleanors hair to keep her calm as she slept. “I was about ready to shoot the man but he said I could go if I gave up Hosea.”

“You-”  
“I didn’t.” Abigail looked at Arthur with a glare. “I would never give him up. Hosea gave himself up. He said he’d go with them if I got to run off, and they let me go. Hosea… Hosea got himself captured to save me, I would have never given him up. I thought he had a plan and- oh god.” Abigail covered her eyes, hunching over slightly. Arthur heard her sniffle, saw her hands tremble slightly. “I ran out of Saint Denis and hid in the swamps, I didn’t want to be followed back to camp, so I waited. I must’ve been there for… I don’t know, it was certainly awhile, but I didn’t see any Pinkertons looking for me, or any of the roads, so I went back to camp. Sadie was on guard duty so I told her what happened. She rounded up the others with Miss Grimshaw, everyone got things packed up and we head out.”

“You did a good job Abigail.” Arthur tried to comfort her. “Getting everyone out of there and safe was the best thing you could’ve done. When Charles and I passed by there earlier, there was a damn swarm of them around, looking for us. They would’ve come through and killed all of you if you hadn’t gotten away.” Gently Arthur put his hand on her arm, comforting her. “Thank you.” Abigail sniffled, wiping her eyes before she gave Arthur a half-hearted smile.

“If you two don’t mind company-” Arthur and Abigail looked at the opening of the wagon, seeing Kieran walking up before he jumped onto the back and sat, his legs dangling off the back of the wagon. “I want to know what happened? T- to Bill.”

“He’s fine. Dutch, Bill, Javier and Micah all got out just fine. They went down to the docks and jumped on a boat I’m assuming.” Kieran nodded, placing a hand over the mark on his neck. “Did somethin happen?”

“No. I just uh… I’ve heard that bonds get weaker when you’re real far away. I feel him but its more like… I dunno, a tickle?” Kieran shrugged. “I just… I thought-”

“He’s alive, don’t worry about that.” With a nod of his head Kieran fell silent with Arthur and Abigail, just listening to the sounds outside of the wagon moving along with the horses.

Arthur closed his eyes, leaning back against the wagon with a sigh. He still felt exhausted from the day, it had been far too long of a day and things didn’t seem to be slowing down. There was still the fear that the Pinkertons would show up and shoot down the entire gang, Arthur hoped they got to their destination without a hitch again.

`

`

“Theres Mrs Adler!”  
“And Mister Smith.” Arthur peeked out of the back of the wagon, seeing a cleared out area for the gang to settle into for now. He let out a sigh of relief as everyone pulled up into the area, the wagon stopping which allowed him to jump out of the back.

“Everyone should be able to fit inside for right now, long as y’all don’t mind a little crowding.” Sadie stated, ushering everyone to the big house. “Arthur-” She called him over and Arthur went to her without any questioning. “Charles and I been talking, he told me what happened, offered for you and him to keep an eye on Eleanor until we know more about Dutch. That alright?”  
“Sure, I don’t see why not.” Sadie smiled at his answer.

“Great then, you and Charles are set up in a little corner behind the wall- got you a little space of your own so you can do well, whatever you need with Davon, you go on in, Charles will get Eleanor.”

“Thank you Mrs. Adler.” Arthur walked into the house, careful as he could to push past everyone to the little corner Sadie had talked about. Bedrolls were already set up around, along with hammocks so not everyone was on the floor. It was crowded but nobody seemed to be complaining, partially due to being exhausted. Arthur was sure that by morning he would hear Uncle complaining about his back pains from being on the floor, or the girls getting whipped back up by Miss Grimshaw.

For now, he settled onto the floor, gently laying Davon next to him before he got himself comfortable. Footsteps approached, though familiar ones- Charles. Arthur didn’t make a move to get up, finding himself too exhausted to move much. “You sure you can sleep in your suit?”

“I’ve slept in worse before.” Arthur muttered, letting out a sigh as he moved to at least remove his tie- that he’d forgotten about until now- and his suit jacket. Charles was holding Eleanor in his arms, the child passed out still. “Lay her down right here.” Arthur scoot over slightly, patting the ground next to Davon. Charles gently laid the child on the ground, taking Arthurs suit jacket to cover up her body at least. “She should have somethin of Hoseas, not mine.”

“We can look for something of his in the morning.” Charles said as he laid down next to Arthur, wrapping his arms around him. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” Arthur closed his eyes, sighing. “I’ll be better once I get some rest. Is anyone keeping watch?”

“Mrs Adler is. I offered but she said I needed to sleep and she’d come wake me up later.” Arthur nodded, feeling himself drifting off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCREAMS LOUDER I AM SO SORRY  
> This chapter was longer than I was expecting it to be but I hope y'all enjoy it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is enough to get everyone out of here.” Arthur muttered, staring at the bills. “This is… Plenty.”  
> “Seems like it.” Charles agreed, picking up a few of the bills to recount them. “What do you want to do about it?”  
> “I don’t know. Ain’t my decision… And with the gold bars that Dutch took with him, when he comes back we really will be set. We can go.” Arthur let out a low whistle, running his fingers through his hair as he thought. “That is, if Dutch can get back safe. I don’t know how long they’ll be gone, where they went off to. Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I've been busy. Enjoy!

The first day after the bank robbery most everyone stayed within the cabin and little camp they’d made. Pearson had a table set up so he could continue to cook, and Charles took Kieran out with him once to teach him to hunt and be of some use while Arthur stayed in camp and looked after the gang- they ended up bringing back two deer and Pearson joked that it was just like up in the mountains. The joke fell to sour faces and scowls and the cook quickly vanished to work silently on cleaning up the meat.

Things were still up in the air, John was in jail, Hosea and Lenny were dead, and the others who got away were missing. Kieran said he would let Arthur know if anything happened, since he was the only one with a bond connected to the ones who’d left. For now they needed to stay hidden, hunkered down in their shelter and away from Pinkertons. Three people on guard duty at a time, the kids stuck even closer to camp than before with constant eyes on them, and if someone was to go out they needed someone with them or they couldn’t leave.

Arthur wasn’t used to the sudden shift of everyone looking to him for things, he’d been in the gang the longest aside from Miss Grimshaw and it seemed like everyone was expecting him to lead in Dutch’s absence. He wasn’t a leader, all he wanted was to keep his family safe and that seemed to be good enough for everyone else to make him the temporary leader. One of the first things he did the next morning was grab the lock box- that Miss Grimshaw had snatched up- and the satchel of bills he’d brought back from the bank robbery. The amount was more than he’d expected, and he’d had Charles come and count it again just in case he got it wrong.

“This is enough to get everyone out of here.” Arthur muttered, staring at the bills. “This is… Plenty.”

“Seems like it.” Charles agreed, picking up a few of the bills to recount them. “What do you want to do about it?”

“I don’t know. Ain’t my decision… And with the gold bars that Dutch took with him, when he comes back we really will be set. We can go.” Arthur let out a low whistle, running his fingers through his hair as he thought. “That is, if Dutch can get back safe. I don’t know how long they’ll be gone, where they went off to. Shit.”

“Could send someone out to try and get information?” Arthur shook his head quickly at the suggestion.

“Too risky, one of the Pinkertons sniffs out someone trying to figure out where a certain boat went that night and its over. Better to just wait it out, at least for a bit.”

“Alright.” Charles put the money back into the lock box and the satchel, clasping it shut. “Well, what should we do about this then? Can’t go throwing it around.” Arthur shrugged. “Keep it hidden?”   
“Best of an answer as any. Keep it with our stuff for now, I’ll think on it.”

After the money had been counted Arthur got antsy, looking around over the camp- small, sad faces, worry hanging in the air. It was worse this time, worse than Blackwater. At least then Dutch had been here, Hosea had been here, now they were missing people with no idea on where they got to. The only saving grace to Arthur was Micah had been with them and he didn’t have to deal with listening to him.

He decided to take Davon and head over to Abigail, who was a wreck still with Tilly by her side trying to talk to her. Tilly noticed Arthur walking over and gave him a small smile.

“Y’all okay?” Arthur asked, looking down at the two women.

“Okay as can be. Worried about John.” Tilly answered and Abigail sucked in a breath through her teeth. “What are we gonna do Arthur?”

“I’m not sure. But I’ll figure it out, I swear.” Abigail sniffled, looking up at Arthur, clenching her fists. “Be glad he’s alive, Abigail.”   
“Don’t you worry, I’m glad he’s alive. You said you didn’t see him getting arrested?” Arthur shook his head.   
“Dutch mentioned it, said he was too far gone when he noticed and there was no way of grabbing him. I don’t think they’ll hang him, too much going on right now.” Arthur tried to smile, moving to sit beside Abigail. “He survived those damn wolves in the mountains, near freezing, almost eaten alive. I think he can survive a little bit of law.” Abigail let out a half hearted chuckle, looking at Davon who stared back at her with his big eyes.

“Tilly, can you give us a minute?” Tilly nodded, standing up and dusting off her dress before she walked away to leave Abigail and Arthur alone.

“Something on your mind?”

“You’ve done so much for this gang Arthur.” Abigail gently placed her hand on his knee with a smile. “Everyones seen it, everyones seeing it now. Well, I’ve just been thinking that… Us, me and John, you and Charles, the kids, we all gotta think about the future.” Arthur raised his brow, not saying anything to her. “I got a bad feeling about all of this, and you know I’ve always been good with my gut.”

“What’re you talking about Abigail?” Abigail bit her lip, moving her hand off Arthur knee to place her hands in her lap again as she fidget with her skirt. “Abigail.”

“Leavin, Arthur. Getting out, us with families. Or just, all of us. Decent folk here, died and I just… I don’t want Jack to end up like his father. Or anyone for that matter, not in a gang, not runnin’ for his life, just a normal kid.” Abigail turned to Arthur, her eyes sad as she reached out and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “You know how people are when bonds are broken, and so violently too. Dutch isn’t going to be right when he comes back, he hasn’t been right for months.”

“You doubting him now?” Arthur scowled and Abigail pulled back, giving him a glare.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it Arthur. You’re not dumb, you ain’t stupid, no matter what you think-” She paused, taking in a deep breath. “When you and Kieran got taken by Colm, Dutch did not believe Charles when he said something was wrong.”

“I know, Charles mentioned-”

“Arthur. If you weren’t bonded, or pregnant, or anything, I think Dutch woulda just let you two go missing. I watched, I stood and I watched. He didn’t want to send anyone out for you two. Charles pushed him, and so did Hosea. With Hosea gone now?” Abigail shook her head slowly. “Think about it Arthur. Just, think about it. You got a family, I do too. Things haven’t been right since Blackwater, too many dead and too many injured.” Abigail stood up, letting out a sigh. “Just think about it.” She walked away without letting Arthur reply, just leaving him to sit alone.

He shook his head slightly, looking at Davon- the baby wiggling in his arms slightly as he reached out his hands. Arthur smiled, pulling the baby up to kiss the top of his head, cradling him as he hummed softly.

He thought on what Abigail said. He had a son, she had a son, they each had an alpha- even if John wasn’t the greatest at it. Arthur stared into his babys eyes and stood, looking around the small camp they had, his gut clenching. All he wanted, a family, was right there. This time, he vowed to keep it safe.

`

`

`

The next morning Arthur was woken up- a little earlier than intended, by Kieran who was shaking him awake in a panic. He sat up and reached for his gun before Kieran shook his head. “Somethin’ is wrong. I- I- I don’t wanna bother anyone, an- and you’re the only one…” Kieran fidget his hands and stood up. “Come on I don’t want to wake up anyone.” Arthur let out a sigh as he stood up- carefully so he didn’t bother Charles or the kids, and grabbed his gun just in case before he quietly followed Kieran outside.

They stepped away from the building so nobody was bothered, and Kieran spun around on his heels to face Arthur as soon as he was sure he wouldn’t wake anyone up. “Something is wrong.”

“You said that already. What is it?” Arthur was impatient already, he didn’t like to be woken up unless it was an emergency and if Kieran woke him up over nothing he’d make sure the boy got double guard duty for the night.

“I- I was tryin’ to sleep and I couldn’t. I was jus’-” Kieran stumbled over his words and let out a huff. “I felt somethin’ like a panic in me but it weren’t me, and my neck started hurting real bad.” Arthur nodded, glancing to the mark on Kierans neck that was half covered by his blue neck wrap he sometimes wore. “I think something happened to Bill and it ain’t good. Which means if- if he was with the rest of them then it ain’t good either.” Kieran shivered as he stood, hugging an arm around himself. “Something bad happened Arthur, I can feel it. I can barely feel Bill as it is so I don’t know if I only got a glimpse of it or- or what. But if I can barely feel it then it’s gotta be worse than what I felt.”

“Alright, kid, take it easy.” Arthur gently placed a hand on Kierans shoulders, feeling the boy tremble under his touch. “Is he still alive?”

“I think so. I haven’t… Lost feeling completely but it’s like he- he’s so far away its hard to tell.” Arthur nodded his head slowly as Kieran spoke. “I don’t wanna lose him Arthur, or any of em! Except well- maybe Micah-” Kieran chuckled and Arthur couldn’t help but smile at the small joke. “But if he’s with Dutch, then who knows what happened to Dutch! He could be dead!” Kierans voice raised a bit and Arthur shushed him, trying to keep him from panicking and to keep him from waking anyone up.

“Easy there, easy. We don’t know anything yet, they could’a just, I don’t know- ran into someone and had a moment. I’m sure Bill is just fine, I’m sure Dutch is too.” Kieran took in a breath and let out a sigh, rubbing over his eye. “You should get some sleep, or try to alright? Let me know if anything changes. If your mark starts healing or going away, you let me know. Then we’ll worry.”

“Okay, thank you. I’ll uh, I’ll let you know…” With that Kieran slunk back towards the house, his hand rubbing over his neck.

Arthur let out a sigh, looking up at the stars in the sky, his brows pinched together with worry. “Oh Hosea… What should I do for these people?”

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“Arthur!” Sadies voice made Arthur perk up from where he sat, Davon in his arms as the baby was eating. Both Sadie and Molly walked over, Sadie holding a newspaper in her hands. “I’m sorry to uh- interrupt.”

“It’s alright.” Arthur waved his hand through the air to brush it off. “Miss O’Shea, Mrs. Adler, what can I do for you?”

“Well we were in town, Swanson wanted us to try and stock up on some medications again and the idiot is too out of it to do it himself-” Sadie huffed and held up the paper. “Theres something you gotta see in here. You said that Dutch and the rest of them escaped on a boat, right?”

“That I did. What of it?” Sadie flipped open the paper, turning it towards Arthur for him to read. He gently grabbed the bottom of the paper, the words catching his eyes.

**COAL BOAT SINKS, CREWMEMBER WASHED ASHORE, THE REST MISSING.**

_ Off the ports from Saint Denis a coal boat headed for Northern Cuba reportedly sunk. One of the members of the crew escaped on a boat with another, who died due to injuries sustained from escaping the boat. The surviving member tells of a storm that hit the boat the night before, causing a fire which caused the boat to sink into the waters. He claims none of the other crew has survived. Pinkertons questioned him thoroughly asking about the possibility of the Van Der Linde gang- who may have fled the country recently from Saint Denis, but the man did not speak on the subject and instead refused to answer further questions. _

Arthur felt his hands tremble as he read the passage, leaning back slightly and looking away frm it. “Arthur, if Dutch was on that boat-”

“I know.”

“He may not be comin’ back.”

“I know!” Arthur snapped at Sadie, taking in a deep breath to calm down. “I know… You need to tell Kieran. Bill might have… I don’t know. He was telling me the other night about his damn neck pain and that something was wrong.”

“I’ll let him know.” Sadie folded the paper back up, gently placing a hand on Arthurs shoulder before she walked away. Molly lingered, balling her fists up in worry.

“Arthur…” She spoke softly and Arthur met her eyes. “You may be the only thing these people have left…”

“I know, Miss O’Shea…. I know. Please, I need to be alone for a bit.” She nodded and head off quickly, leaving Arthur to sit and stare out into the tree line.

A few minutes later he heard the commotion from behind him, the sound of Kieran babbling through sobs before he saw the man pass by the corner of his eye, dashing away from the camp. Arthur took in a deep breath, feeling the tears prick at his eyes as he did so. Footsteps approached him from behind and soon Charles was next to him.

The man didn’t say anything as he sat down, placing a hand on top of Arthurs. Arthur closed his eyes, hunching forwards as he let a sob slip from his lips before he trembled, cradling Davon close to him while Charles wrapped his arms around Arthur comfortingly, holding him as he sobbed.

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Dutch stared into the fire he built. He should feel lucky to be alive, should be happy that everyone who was on the boat with him got off safe and they were still together. Where they were, he wasn’t sure but he would find out in the morning. Everyone was quiet, sitting close to the fire as their clothes were still soaked from the storm and the sea and they all huddled to try and keep warm.

Yet, instead of feeling any lick of happiness he was alive, he felt his gut twist still and he felt nothing. The mark on his neck that he’d had for decades, fading, like the plans he had to get everyone home safe. He felt anger if anything, at himself- at the Pinkertons- and at the possibility of a rat like Micah had suggested.

Dutch clenched his fists, standing up without a word before he walked away from the men of his gang. He knew they were still watching him, waiting for him to say anything to them as a leader, but he couldn’t think. Dutch had grown so used to working with Hosea, having the man near him to guide and help him. Suddenly, that one man he knew he could rely on, had been pulled away.

Dutch looked into the sky, past the trees to the sky that still had scattered storm clouds. He looked to the moon and let out a sigh. “Forgive me, Hosea. Please… Forgive me, I have to keep the rest of us safe.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a strange feeling in the air, to Arthur, like something was going to happen. He was nervous about it, if it’d be something good or something bad. Arthur tried to focus on Eleanors reading but his mind wandered just a bit until a noise from outside caught his attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am running on so little sleep but here is a long overdue update. Enjoy!

“-You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lordforever.”

Swansons voice seemed almost like it was a thousand miles away to Arthur. He was staring into the holes in the dirt, Hosea and Lenny, side by side. New clothes on to cover the wounds on them, try to hide it from Eleanor as she clung to Arthurs leg and sobbed. Arthur knew it had to be hard on her, seeing her father buried in the ground while Swanson read off shit from the bible that Arthur could barely stand to listen to.

Next to the graves Sean and Charles stood holding shovels with piles of dirt beside both of them. Sean next to Lennys grave, Charles by Hoseas, seemed fitting enough. Arthur would have held the shovel himself except he had one arm holding Davon and the other arm gently placed on Elenaros shoulder to comfort her. Abigail stood next to them, sobbing into a tissue with Molly next to her with a hand placed gently upon her shoulder. Molly almost didn’t come, but she’d known Hosea for long enough that Arthur got her to come, if not for herself then to help Abigail.

Susan stood on the other side of Arthur, her hands gently down in front of her, clenched into fists. There were no tears from her, only an anger that seemed to seem out of her, anger to the world, to the Pinkertons.

To Dutch.

Tilly and Mary-Beth were next to Susan, tears on their cheeks that they wiped away the best they could, trying to keep a brave face.

The rest of the gang- which consisted of Kieran, Sadie, Uncle, Pearson, Karen, Trelawny, and Strauss, had decided not to come to the funeral, either they couldn’t face them or didn’t feel welcome, or decided to stay back and watch Jack for Abigail since Abigail didn’t want him to see the two dead.

Swanson finished up his prayers, a muttered ‘amen’ across the gang members that were there before he took his step back as Sean and Charles began to bury the bodies. Abigail quickly turned with Molly and head to a horse to ride back to camp, unable to stay any longer. Swanson stayed for a bit until the bodies were covered enough and he too left, unable to look any longer. Susan left when the graves were half full along with Mary-Beth and Tilly.

Arthur stood, and waited, crouched by Eleanor and holding her as she wept into his clothes. As soon as the graves were filled Charles picked up the two crosses, pushing one into the dirt for Hosea, and the other in for Lenny. Sean opened his mouth a moment, then stopped as he decided against speaking before he turned and followed suit to leave.

Charles wiped his hands off on his pants, heading to Arthur and looking at Eleanor. Arthur gently ran his fingers through her hair to try and comfort her, though it didn’t do much else.

“We should head back.” Charles said. “Before Pinkertons show up.”   
“When she’s calmer.” Arthur replied, gently patting Eleanors head. “I don’t want to tear her away right now. You can head back if you want.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with two kids, Arthur.” Arthur didn’t reply, just comforted Eleanor the best he could until she calmed down. Eventually she felt calm enough to be taken to the horses. “I’ll take Davon.” Charles said, holding out his hands. “You keep an eye on her.”

“Thank you.” Arthur handed the baby over to Charles carefully before he climbed onto his horse, leaning over to scoop up Eleanor so she could sit with him. She held onto the saddle horn while Arthur rode away from the graves slowly, Charles riding up next to them.

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Dutch had been gone for almost two weeks.

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“Arthur, I want you to meet some people.” Charles walked over to Arthur as the man was attempting to skin a deer. He looked up, seeing two Natives next to Charles, a quick look and he could tell right away the older was an Alpha while the other was an Omega. “Arthur this is Rains Fall and his son Eagle Flies.”

“Pleasure to meet you two.” Arthur nodded at them, quickly turning back to his skinning to finish it up. “These the two you’ve been helping out, Charles?”

“We are. He has been a great help.” Rains Fall spoke up, watching Arthur close.

“Well it’s nice to finally meet you, Charles has told me some about you.” Arthur stood up straight, grabbing something to wipe the blood off his hands quickly. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I need you to help them a bit Arthur, please.” Charles said, stepping towards him. “It’s something I can’t help out with right now.”

“Sure.” Arthur nodded. “What is it?”

“We need you to help us get some medicine.” Arthur raised his brow. “Our supplies are being cut off by soldiers, my people are sick.”

“Well if thats all you need, I don’t see why I can’t help.” Charles smiled at Arthurs reply. “Just tell me when and where, I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you, Mister Morgan.”

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Dutch had been gone a month.

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“I think its safe enough for us to move and get John.” Sadie said, sternly. “Dutch… Dutch and them, they ain’t coming back, it’s been too long. Abigail, she’s getting nervous.” Arthur scratched his beard, nodding as Sadie spoke. “There’s talk of hanging John now, so we gotta get moving.”

“I think you and me, we could probably do it alone. Just need to make sure he’s still at Sisika.” Sadie smiled and nodded.

“I can figure out something for you.” Sadie sniffed, running her hand over her face quickly.

Everyone was tired, they’d all been pulling so many night watches- and day ones- as well as pulling more weight than usual to keep everyone fed and everyone together.

Kieran had done his best keeping up hope Bill would be back, the mark on his neck never went away and it let everyone know Bill was alive, and gave them some sort of hope that the rest of them still were too. But after a month of them not showing up the hope had dwindled, the gang had almost fallen sour lately.

Arthur, he was just angry. When Dutch didn’t return they all turned to him, elected him as the new leader of the gang without another word. Sadie and Charles helped him where they could, tried to take some pressure off him. Sadie mostly went out with people, guarding them, going into towns, while Charles took people hunting so Pearson didn’t get too loud. And Arthur kept everyone together.

He’d spent most of his time with Eleanor and Davon, taking Eleanor under his wing, and after a talk with Charles, the two had decided to take on as her parents. When he wasn’t doing that he was helping Charles with Rains Fall where he could, and then trying to hold the gang together. Overall, Arthur would say he’s never been more exhausted.

“I’ll head into town tomorrow, see if I can figure out a way to find John.”

“Thank you Sadie. I’ll let Abigail know.” Arthur stood from his seat, waving a goodbye to Sadie before he went to find Abigail.

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Evening fell on the camp, there was a quiet amongst the gang members as they sat inside of the cramped house, trying to comfort one another, talk of getting John out of jail seemed in the air but nobody lingered on the conversation for too long. Pearson was outside with Abigail working on stew, not talking much.

Arthur sat with Eleanor on his knee, listening to her as she read a book out loud to him the best she could- and he helped with what she couldn’t. Charles was laying with Davon who was asleep for his nap.

There was a strange feeling in the air, to Arthur, like something was going to happen. He was nervous about it, if it’d be something good or something bad. Arthur tried to focus on Eleanors reading but his mind wandered just a bit until a noise from outside caught his attention.

The door swung open and in walked Abigail, and Javier.

The gang paused, stared, Abigail announced he’d returned- the man looked like he’d been through hell, and everyone suddenly got up.   
“Javier!”

“You’re alive?”   
“Are you okay?”

“You look like you’ve been through shit there.” Javier waved to everyone and chuckled awkwardly.

“Hola, hola, hello.” He greeted then with a smile and Arthur got up quickly, setting Eleanor on the ground before he went to Javier. “Hello Arthur.”

“You’re alive. My god.” Arthur chuckled, grinned, and pulled Javier in for a hug. Javier accepted it, patting Arthur on the back before the two separated. “What the hell happened to you all? Is everyone else around, are they alive?”

“Is Bill okay?” Kieran burst over frantically. “Is he here?”

“Yes, yes-” Javier shook his head. “Everyones fine, including that idiot. They’re going to be arriving soon. Can I uh, sit down, please?” Arthur led Javier to a chair where he sat down and sighed, slinking down into it. Abigail appeared at his side with a cup of coffee and a bowl of food. “Gracias.” He took them with a smile, sipping at the coffee.

“What happened to you all?”

“We thought you was dead.”

“I’m surprised to be alive, it was rough. I uh, maybe you can ask Dutch about it, I’m sure he will be thrilled to tell you all.” Javier waved them off, shrinking into his chair almost and Arthur attempted to get people to give him space. “We just got back today, everyones out there looking for you.”

“Well we should go and find them.” Kieran said quickly and Javier shook his head.

“No no, they’ll find their way back. Just, trust me.” Kieran seemed unhappy with the answer and he fidget, obviously wanting to see Bill again. Arthur placed a hand on Kierans shoulder, giving it a light squeeze to let him know to stay put.

“Alright, Javier is back!” Arthur said, looking at everyone. “Give the boy some space will ya? Come on, we gotta-” Arthur wasn’t sure what to say. “Gotta get ready for everyone coming home.” The gang seemed happier suddenly, bursting with energy as they bustled around the cabin and away from Javier. Kieran took a seat by the door, leaning on it with anticipation. Arthur kept near Javier, looking at him with a smile. “Welcome home.”

“Good to be back.” Javier said through the bits of his food. “I’m not sure when everyone will arrive, but until then, you mind if I take a nap? It’s been a long… It’s been…”

“A month.” Arthur confirmed and Javier nodded. “Sure, you can take the hammock over here.” Arthur pointed at an empty one which Javier was eager to lay down in.

Javier slept for an hour before Micah arrived, grinning from ear to ear as he walked through the door, getting a welcome back- though not quite as big as Javiers was- but still was offered a cup of coffee and some food out of good courtesy. Arthur then showed him a bedroll if he wanted to lay down, which he promptly did- though he didn’t seem to sleep to anyone, just laid there.

The next to arrive was Bill, who was greeted mostly by Kieran who jumped up and clung to him. “You’re back, you’re alive, god you’re alive.” Arthur couldn’t help the smile on his face as he watched the two embrace, happy that Kieran could get off his ass about Bill now and spend some time with the damned man. Just as the two before him he was given food and coffee, and Kieran led him to his bedroll where the two sat together.

The last to arrive was Dutch, who walked in disheveled, looking exhausted, and everyone jumped up.

“Dutch!”

“You’re back! He’s back!”   
“Dutch, they got John.”

The noise was almost overwhelmed and Dutch chuckled, holding his hands out. “How’d you folks find each other? What happened?” He looked around at everyone. “Can… Can someone get me a cup of coffee or something?”

“It was Mrs. Adler who saved us Dutch.” Strauss piped up. “After the robbery in Saint denis, she got us away from the camp before the Pinkertons turned up.” Sadie looked happy with that, sitting up proud. Dutch grinned to her. “Then Mrs. Adler and Mr. Smith drove away the degenerates who were living here.”   
“Mrs. Adler, we owe you.” Tilly arrived at Dutchs side with a coffee and he graciously took it, holding the cup to Sadie quickly. “Thank you.”

“Dutch we uh-” Arthur spoke up, clearing his throat. “We buried Hosea, and Lenny. Had a proper burial for them.” Dutch frowned, fidget his coffee in his hand. “But Eleanor is-”

“Pa!” Eleanor came rushing over as if she was summoned, jumping up to Dutch who scooped down to hug her close. “You’re alive, you’re alive.” She clung to him and Dutch smiled softly, holding her tight.

“Well, look at us. We are all here, all well.” Dutch looked at the group, sipping the coffee in his hand. “I know times have been tough, no doubt about that, but we will get out of this, and we will get to safety.”

“Well Dutch we still got some-” Arthur began to speak up but was cut off by the loud sounds of a voice outside.

Pinkertons.

Arthur groaned, and the uneasy feeling that had been over the camp the past month, returned in full force.

**Author's Note:**

> The next chapter is gonna be a.......... Killer.


End file.
